Port Lands murder wasn’t random: police

Victim Leanne Freeman. HANDOUT

Toronto police say Leanne Freeman, who was shot in the head and dumped in the Port Lands area, knew her killer.

Det.-Sgt. Brian Borg said at a news conference he doesn’t believe Freeman’s death was a “random” act.

“I also don’t believe that this is a random event.”

The 23-year-old woman’s belongings, including clothing, were found in a commercial dumpster on Kingston Road near Sandown Avenue by a business owner last Friday, Borg said.

“I believe this property was deposited by the person or persons who killed Leanne right after the murder,” he said.

Borg wouldn’t say how investigators know that. He also wouldn’t say exactly what the belongings were, and only said that the personal items were found by a business owner who was throwing garbage out at a dumpster.

The dumpster is about a 20-minute drive from where Freeman’s body was found in the industrial area on Unwin Avenue, near Leslie, Borg said. A driver spotted Freeman, of Winnipeg, lying unconscious and bleeding on the street around 1 a.m. on Nov. 29.

She was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

“There’s been a large team of investigators working tirelessly in the case and doing everything we can to find those person or persons responsible and charge them accordingly,” he said.

He urged witnesses to contact police.

Police say Freeman’s sister and two brothers are on their way to Toronto and that a funeral service is being planned.

Last week, Borg said he wasn’t sure if Freeman’s line of work as a sex trade worker was connected to her murder. He said Freeman lived a “transient” lifestyle. He also said she had a history of drug use and had been charged with possession and trafficking in Winnipeg in June.

But on Friday he said that she was not working that night.

With files from The Canadian Press